We drove down to the Cape Friday night and Ally sang along to her favorite music the whole way. Even while wearing headphones, she can’t resist a full-throated chorus. She also currently has very questionable taste in music. Which is completely fine. Taste and appreciation largely come from time and experience. I’m careful not to completely betray my feelings (at least up until the 14th consecutive playing of Geronimo or The Village People). I believe my job as a Dad is to encourage and let them roam (sort of like raising sheep dogs) and look for opportunities to help their taste expand and grown.

When Cecilia was selected for the jazz band last year, I would occasional slip on a Coltrane track when she wasn’t paying attention.

When Ally started singing and composing on the piano, I played her a song Lorde wrote at 16 and we put GarageBand on her phone.

When their interests and my interests intersect, we get those special opportunities to connect and share together. This past week at Dad Camp, I put their arts and crafts enthusiasm to good use as we built a small outdoor brick oven and cooked some pizzas for dinner. Even though there was no glitter or glue stick involved in the masonry, I hope that’s a day they remember.

I somehow managed to forget to pack my sneakers for the weekend. If my mind was telling me to take a day off, I didn’t listen. The tides cooperated and I was able to get a morning mud flats beach run in. The underappreciated Rocky II theme music might have been hummed.

Sneakers or no sneakers, sand or pavement, I still sweat. A lot. The cure? A post-workout pool dive.

Once the workouts were completed and we were cleaned up, we began thinking about dinner. We headed to the local farmer’s market.

Still not too old to put their heads in the cut outs.

We just conquered checkers during the last rainy weekend, so chess at this point might be a bit of a stretch.

Masks are back on for most stores in the county, but places are still open, including our favorite local book shop. You can get the latest Max there or pickup some YA like the girls did, including Michelle.

Dinner sorted and books acquired, we set up shop on the sand for a classic Cape beach day.

Inspired by the Olympic canoeing sprints, Cece hit the bay in her kayak.

And Ally… had fun.

There was a break for lunch. Despite her protests that Doritos were vegetarian (technically they are not because of the rennet in the cheese…substance) and a perfectly fine lunch by themselves, Ally did eat something else. Michelle got her mustard fix in.

The afternoon was spent in the sand or the retreating water. Including a post-lunch family float in the bay.

Also, a milestone, after many years of trying, Poppy finally broke through and won a game of Go Fish against his grand kids.

Another milestone? No, not the beach boat drinks those are a very regular occurrence, but Cece reading on the beach without any prodding. My slow burn show-don’t-tell strategy is paying dividends.

Funny, just saying her name a little too loud in public these days reduces Cecilia to a puddle of embarrassment, but somehow she has no problem being her sister’s back-up beach dancer for an epic sand show.

The clouds rolled in and obscured the chance at a sunset, but didn’t effect the seafood boil for dinner.

Finally, as Ally reminded us, no classic Cape summer Saturday would be complete without some ice cream.